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JAVELIN

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Originally appearing in Volume V15, Page 294 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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JAVELIN , a See also:

SPEAR (O. Eng. spere, O. H. Ger. sper, mod. Ger. speer, &c., cf. Lat. sparrs; probably related to " spar, " a beam)

spear, particularly one See also:

LIGHT

light enough to be thrown, a dart. The javelin was often provided with a thong to help in casting (see SPEAR). Javelin-throwing is one of the contests in the athletic See also:

section at the See also:

INTERNATIONAL, THE

international Olympic See also:

GAMES, CLASSICAL

games. Formerly the See also:

SHERIFF

sheriff of a See also:

COUNTY (through Norm. Fr. comae, cf. O. Fr. cunte, conk', Mod. Fr. comae, from Lat. comitatus, cf. Ital. comitato, Prov. comtat; see COUNT)

county or See also:

borough had a See also:

BODY

body of men armed with javelins, and known as javelin-men, who acted as a bodyguard for the See also:

JUDGES, THE BOOK OF

judges when they went on See also:

ASSIZE

assize. Their duties are now performed by the See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary See also:

POLICE (Fr. police, government, civil administration, a police force, Gr. sroXumeia, constitution, condition of a state, roars, city, state)

police. The word itself is an See also:

ADAPTATION (from Lat. adaptare. to fit to)

adaptation of Fr. javeline. There are several words in See also:

CELTIC

Celtic and Scandinavian See also:

LANGUAGES

languages and in Old See also:

ENGLISH

English, meaning a spear or dart, that seem to be connected with javel, the See also:

BASE

base See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form in See also:

French; thus -Welsh gaflach, Irish gabhla, O. See also:

NORWEGIAN

Norwegian gaflok, O. E. gafeluc, later in the form gavelock, cf. O. See also:

Norman-Fr. gavel at, javelot, Ital. giavelolto. The origin seems to be Celtic, and the word is cognate with Ir. gafa, a See also:

hook, See also:

FORK (Lat. furca)

fork, gaff; the See also:

root is seen in " gable " (q.v.), and in the See also:

German See also:

GABEL, KRISTOFFER (1617-x673)

Gabel, fork.

The See also:

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change in meaning from fork, forked end of a spear, to the spear itself is obscure.

End of Article: JAVELIN

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